Casey, Nethercutt to address class of 2010

Waynesburg University’s annual Baccalaureate and Commencement exercises will be held Sunday, May 16, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. The celebration will honor approximately 700 undergraduate and graduate students. George Nethercutt, former House Representative and current Chairman of Nethercutt Consulting, and Robert “Bob” Casey, Jr., Pennsylvania Senator, will address the class of 2010.

Baccalaureate services will be held in the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. Commencement will be held on the front lawn of Miller Hall. In the case of inclement weather, Commencement will be held in the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.

Graduates will have the opportunity to reflect on their personal and academic journeys as they experience one of the most significant events in their lives. The Baccalaureate and Commencement speakers will offer inspirational guidance as each member of the class of 2010 begins a new chapter in his or her life. Families are encouraged to arrive early, as the commencement processional begins approximately 20 minutes prior to the ceremony.

Nethercutt will deliver the baccalaureate address to graduates and their parents. Nethercutt is the founder and chairman of The George Nethercutt Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the civics and leadership education of college students. He serves on the Board of Directors of Hecla Mining Company, The Washington Policy Center, ARCADIS NV and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Born in Spokane, Wash., Mr. Nethercutt was educated at Washington State University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1967. In 1971, he received his Juris Doctorate degree from Gonzaga University. After serving as a law clerk to a federal judge in the U.S. District Court in Anchorage, Alaska, he worked in the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C., where he focused on issues of oil and gas, natural resources, mining and commerce from 1972-1977.

Mr. Nethercutt later practiced law with offices in Spokane, Seattle and Almira, Wash., from 1977-1994. In April 2005, President Bush appointed him to serve as U.S. Chairman, Permanent Joint Board on Defense-US/Canada.

The annual commencement address will be delivered by Pennsylvania Senator Robert “Bob” Casey, Jr. Casey, a member of the Democratic Party, is the first democrat elected to a full term in the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania since 1962. Casey serves on five Senate committees including Foreign Relations; Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; the Special Committee on Aging; and the Joint Economic Committee. He also serves as the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs. Previously, Casey served as Pennsylvania Treasurer from 2005 to 2006 and Pennsylvania Auditor General from 1997 to 2005.

Casey, the oldest son of former Governor Bob Casey, Sr., graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1982 and spent the following year teaching fifth grade and coaching eighth grade basketball in Philadelphia’s inner city. He received his law degree from Catholic University of America in 1988 and practiced law in Scranton, Pa.

Casey and his wife, Terese, were married in 1985 and have four daughters, Elyse, Caroline, Julia and Marena.

Throughout his public career, Casey has been guided by the legacy of his father and the principle that, “All public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor.”

Founded in 1849 by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Waynesburg University is located on a traditional campus in the hills of southwestern Pennsylvania, with three adult centers located in the Pittsburgh region. The University is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and is one of only 27 Bonner Scholar schools in the country, offering local, regional and international opportunities to touch the lives of others through service.

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Released April 26, 2010 
Contact: Pam Cunningham, Assistant Director of University Relations
724.852.3384 or pcunning@waynesburg.edu